Automatic pin spotters for bowling centers have greatly reduced the labor required to operate a bowling center and due to their speed and precision in large measure have contributed to the popularity of bowling as a sport. Basically, an automatic pin spotter consists of a large electric motor which drives a cyclic pin spotter mechanism, a mechanism to lift pins into a deck above the alley where the pins are available for setting by the pin spotter mechanism and a ball return mechanism. The pin spotter mechanism clears the alley and replaces the pins in the proper positions as a result of a ball hitting the back cushion of the alley, or the actuation of an electric control. Pin spotters mechanisms do not run continuously, but run through a fill cycle which includes a pin pick up when required, alley sweep, and pin replacement and then stop. This action is controlled by a clutch which is caused to engage by the ball striking the back cushion or the electrical control and remains engaged until the pin spotter has completed a full cycle.
As the cost of electrical energy has gone up with rising energy costs and the availability of electrical energy for recreational purposes has diminished, especially during the summer, there has been a need to reduce the power consumption of bowling centers. In most bowling centers, the automatic pin spotting machines consume a large amount of power and, therefore, there has been a need to reduce the power required by such machines. In addition, if the energy consumption of such machines is reduced, they produce less heat so a proportionate reduction in airconditioning cost can be realized in the summer. Since pin spotter machines are expensive and are designed for a long life, there is need for an energy saving device which can be adapted economically to presently existing and installed machines.